Hair waver and the like



- Sept. 10, 1935.

B. M. BESKOW HAIR WAVER AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 16, 1935 I I I II I I II Patented Sept. 16), 1935 UNETED STATEfd PATENT OFFICE HAIR NAVER AND THE LIKE 9 cams.

This invention relates to devices or appliances for the waving of hair, and more particularly to hair wavers and similarly constituted devices in which are embodied novel and effective locking means for retaining such devices in their operative positions.

The subject matter of the present application is related to that of my copending application, Serial Number 730,817, filed June 15, 1934.

In the waving of hair as for the purpose of enhancing the beauty and well-groomed appearance thereof, the steps ordinarily followed are; first dampening the hair, then curving or waving the hair while damp to the desired degree and in "the desired configuration, and maintaining the hair under some degree of pressure in this waved condition until dry. Various appliances for maintaining the hair in curved or waved condition during the drying process have heretofore been designed or suggested whereby it is possible to apply a wave in ones hair without expert assistance. However, appliances of this nature have seldom made their appearance on the market, and these which have been presented to the public have not met with general acceptance.

To be eifective for the described purpose, theseappliances should be of light weight since a number of them are usually applied to the hair during the waving operation. They should be of such nature that they may be readily inserted into the hair and Withdrawn therefrom without entanglement. It is also highly desirable that the device be of a simple construction and capable of production at low cost. The present 'ginvention contemplates the provision of an appliance of this general character in which the above features are attained by the provision of a novel locking means by means of which the device may be readily applied and as readily removed without difficulty and without becoming ing in which certain embodiments of my invention are illustrated by way of example.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a hair waving device embodying the principles of my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical central longitudinal sectional view of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figures 3, 4, and 5 are transverse sectional views taken respectively on lines 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the forward end of a modified form of locking device;

Figure 7 is a plan view of a barrette to which the improved locking device forming the principal feature of the present invention has been 15 applied; and

Figure 8 is a central vertical longitudinal sectien of the device shown in Figure '7.

In its broadest aspect, the invention contemplates the provision of two hair confining means 20 between which hair to be waved or confined may be freely inserted, these means being preferably pivotally connected at one end of the device, and retained in closed position by means of a locking device associated with theopposite end thereof. 25 In the adaptation of the invention to a hair waving device, a third element is embodied in the appliance for the purpose of more rigidly confining the hair and pressing and curving it in the configuration of the desired wave.

In the embodiments of the invention as it relates to hair waving devices, illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive of the drawing, the two hair confining members referred to are designated by the reference characters A and B. The member A 35 will be referred to hereinafter as the inner hair confining means, since when the appliance is in use, this element lies closest to the scalp of the wearer, and the member B will be designated the outer hair confining means lying, as it does, far- 40 thest away from the scalp. In the hair waving appliance, the resiliently mounted element whichis employed to press the hair enclosed in the confining means A, B into the desired wave, will be designated C; and the locking device for retaining the separable ends of the members A and B in locked position will be generally referred to by the letter D.

The inner confining member A, in the embodiment illustrated, comprises the elongated, longi- 50 tudinally curved, substantially transversely fiat body portion Ill, which may be made of thin sheet metal like aluminum, or of a light smooth material such as celluloid, bone, or the like. The body portion In is provided with a central longitudinal groove both for the purpose of strengthening the member and also for providing a guideway for the locking element D. The member A may be conveniently formed from a blank which is provided with a plurality of laterally extending fiaps or ears which are adapted to be bent transversely of the body of the member A in order to form certain bearing elements, guides, and retaining means which will be described in detail hereinafter.

The outer hair confining member B comprises a skeleton-like wire frame formed of the bent wire elements I2 and IS. The wire loop I2 is provided with inwardly directed ends M which are pivotally carried by the upturned ears l5 formed at the right hand end of the member A, as seen in Figures 1 and 2. In order to aid the pivotal retention of the ends l4, to properly space and strengthen the ears I5, and for retaining purposes to be described later, a tubular sleeve I6 is applied as most clearly shown in Figures 1 and 5 of the drawing. The sides of the'loop |2 are spaced slightly further apart than the width of the base or inner member A and extend the greater part of the length of this member. At the forward end of the device the wire loop element I2 is provided with a depending bight I"! which is downwardly directed so as to pass through the opening |8 formed in the member A near the forward end thereof. Upon the end portion of the loop l2 on either side of the bight i? are secured the ends of the substantially parallel wires forming the upper element I3. These wires may be brought together near their central portions as at 253 and soldered, welded, or otherwise united for rigidifying or strengthening purposes. The rear ends of the wires I3 are flared laterally and looped about the wires |2 as at 2|. It will now be seen that the hair confining elemenis A and B are pivoted together as at l4, l5

and may be opened and closed, during which operations the bight II at the forward end of the member B is brought into or out of the opening l8 in the member A. The novel locking means D for securing these elements together at this point when the device is in use will be described further along.

It will be seen that the outer member B. comprising the wires |2to l3, formed'and attached as de cribed, provides an elongated hollow frame enclosing a space in which the confined hair may be operated upon by the spring or pressing member C. This member C is formed of a fiat leaf spring element 25 to the intermediate portion of which is secured, as by means of the rivets 25, the curved, substantially rigid plate 27'which is somewhat wider than the supporting spring element 25. provided with a loop which surrounds the pivot pin 28 carried upon the under side of the member.

A as by means of the downwardly bent ears 29.

This point of pivotal attachment lies within the.

spring 25 is turned abruptly outwardly as at 32v for manipulation in conjunction with the locking member D, which, as will be discerned as. the

description proceeds, isadapted to. bemoved simultaneously with the pressing member C.

The locking member D comprises the. elongatedpin 35 which functions as a sliding bolt tor re- The forward end of the spring 251s.

taining the members A and B together during the hair waving operation. This pin 35 is secured as by means of the downwardly struck portions 36 to the substantially rectangular plate 31 which is adapted to slide upon the base member 5 A beneath both sets of guide lugs 35 and 38, as shown. The lugs 3| and 38 are preferably formed integrally with the main body portion E9 of the member A, as outwardly extending co-planar tabs or projections; then folded over so that they 10 extend parallel with the portion l0. Lugs 38 are spaced from the body portion l0 sufficiently to receive beneath them the rear portion of the member 31, and the lugs 3| are spaced from the body portion it so as to overlie both the member 15 31 and the spring 25. The rearward end of the plate 3'! is bent outwardly as at 40 and curved around the projecting end 32 of the pressing spring 25, thus securing these two elements rigidly together.

When the device is closed or in operative position, all of the members occupy the positions shown in the figures of drawing in which the bight H at the forward end of the member B enters the opening !8 in the member A and is substantially aligned with the channel or groove through which the latch pin 35 slides. The point of the latch pin 35 projects through the bight H and thus holds the members A and B securely together, the point of the pin being pre- 30 vented from upward movement out of the channel 8 by the superposition of the flap 43. In this same position, the member C is bowed so that it presses the strand or bank of hair 35 upwardly into the space defined by the wire frame member B, as clearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawing. The hank of hair thus passes beneath the outer wires l2 of the upper member B upwardly and over the member C and beneath the upper wire member 113 of the confining member B. This 40 produces a curvature or waving of the hair which, of course, is duplicated at every point at which one of the devices is applied.

In order to release the locking means and also straighten the bowed spring member C, pressure may be applied at the point designated by the arrow 50. This will cause the bend 33 in the spring 25 which abuts the forward side of the detent sleeve it to straighten out and to pass rearwardly beneath the sleeve l5, and will move both elements C and D rearwardly beneath the several guide lugs 3| and 38 until the pin 35 has cleared the bight I! thus releasing the confining members A and B.

In applying the device, the hair is brought between the opened members A and B, the element C being, in its lowered position, adjacent the member A. Members A and B are swung together and the combined handle portion 32, 40 of the members C and D is moved forwardly so that the latch pin 35 engages the bight l? and the pressing member C is bowed upwardly to effect the curving of the enclosed hair. The rear bowed portion 5| of the spring 25 above the bend 39 will be retained forwardly of the sleeve i6 and effectively retain all of the elements in operative position until pressure is applied at the point 50, whereupon this portion of the spring 25 snaps rearwardly beneath the sleeve Hi.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawing certain modifications will be apparent. Instead of providing a fiap extending from the member A, as at 453, th material struck from the member A to form the opening l8 may n be bent upwardly and over the upper surface of the base member A to provide a flap designated 43. In order to facilitate the formation of this retaining flap, a hole is punched at the intersection of the line of bending with the groove ll, leaving only the narrow strips 44 at each side 01 the fiap as. This construction permits any necessary flexing of the narrow strips or leg portions 44 when the groove or channel is formed in the base member for the accommodation of the locking pin 35. Figure 6 also illustrates another arrangement of the connection for the spring element 25. In this embodiment the groove l i may be somewhat shallower than in the other cases and the ears 29 are somewhat longer, thus moving the pivot point of the element 25 to a slightly lower position. This necessitates the provision of an opening 55 in the spring member 25 for the passage of the locking pin 35.

In Figures '7 and 8 of the drawing, there is illustrated an adaptation of the invention to a simple securing means, such as a barrette. This embodiment comprises an inner or base member A comprising the body portion 60 which is provided with a central longitudinal groove 6|, as in the previous embodiments, and upper hair confining member B comprises a rather simple wire loop of substantially rectangular configuration, the inwardly directed rear ends 63 of which are received within the lugs or ears 95 and the spacing sleeve 66. Rearwardly disposed sets of guiding lugs 68 are provided on the member A for retaining the handle portion m of the latch member D. The member D consists of the handle portion 1i] and the latching pin 13, the forward pointed end of which is adapted to engage the bight 15 formed on the member B and entering the opening 18 in the inner confining member A. A detent flap I9 is provided as in the case of the similar element 43' of the other embodiment. The manipulative portion or handle I of the locking element D has an upwardly directed flange Bil which may be seized by the fingers in order to operate the device. The hump 8! on the member H3 is adapted to snap into open and closed position over corresponding humps 82 in the base member A on each side of the groove 6|.

From the description, the application of these devices to the hair and their removal therefrom after the hair is dry, in the case of the waving device, will be readily understood. It will be also understood that in practice a plurality of the hair waver devices described herein may be joined together to form a single unit and thus, more than one wave applied to the hair by means of the device.

It will also be apparent that various changes and modifications in the embodiments illustrated and described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A hair waving appliance comprising elongated inner and outer hair confining means between which the hair to be waved may be freely inserted, one of said means having an element shiftable toward the other means to cause the hair so inserted and confined to be closely engaged by the said element and said other means, and a locking element carried by one of said means and slidable longitudinally thereof to engage a portion of said other means.

resilient element adapted to be laterally distorted toward the other means when subjected to longitudinal pressure, a catch portion formed upon said other means, and a movable element carried by said first named means adapted to slide into engagement with said catch portion. 10

3. A hair waving appliance comprising elongated inner and outer hair confining means between which hair to be waved may be freely inserted and confined, one of said means being expansible laterally toward the other means to cause hair so inserted to be closely engaged between said inner and outer means, a locking pin slidable within said expansible means and adapted to engage said other means for locking said means in operative position. i

4. A hair waving appliance comprising elongated inner and outer hair confining means between which hair to be waved may be freely inserted, one of said means including an elongated resilient element adapted to be laterally distorted toward the other means when subjected to 10ngitudinal pressure at the free end to cause hair positioned between said means to be closely engaged by the said element and one of said means, and a second elongated element substantially parallel to said first named element when the latter is undistorted, said second elongated element adapted to slide into locking engagement with said other confining means.

5. A hair waving appliance comprising elongated inner and outer hair confining means between which hair to be waved may be freely inserted, one of said means including an elongated resilient element adapted to be laterally distorted toward the other means when subjected to longitudinal pressure at the free end to cause hair positioned between said means to be closely engaged by the said element and one of said means,

a second elongated element substantially parallel to said first named element when the latter is undistorted, said second elongated element adapted to slide into locking engagement with said other confining means, and a common manipulative means for sliding said locking element and applying said longitudinal pressure to said resilient means.

6. A hair waving appliance of the type described comprising two elongated members having corresponding ends hingedly connected together and between which hair to be waved may be freely inserted and confined, and an element having one end fixed to one of said members and its other end movable longitudinally of said member, said element having a flexible portion adjacent each of its ends, pressure upon the movable end of said 0 element resulting in flexing said portions and causing hair positioned between said members to be closely engaged between said element and said other member, a locking element carried by one of said members and adapted to engage the 5 other and connected with the movable end of said first named element for simultaneous actuation therewith.

7. A hair waving appliance of the type described comprising two elongated members having cor- 7O responding ends hingedly connected together and between which hair to be waved may be freely inserted and confined, and an element having one end fixed to one of said members and its other end movable longitudinally of said member, said element having a flexible portion adjacent each of its ends, presssure upon the movable end of said element resulting in flexing said portions and causing hair positioned between said members to be closely engaged between said element and said other member, a locking element carried by one of said members and adapted to engage the other and connected with the movable end of said first comprising two elongated members having corresponding ends hingedly connected together and between which hair to be waved may be freely inserted and confined, one of said members comprising a cage-like wire frame, a flexible element secured to the other of said members and adapted to be moved into the space enclosed by said frame in order to cause hair positioned between said members to be closely engaged by the said flexible element and the frame to apply a wave to said hair, and a slidable locking pin carried by said other member and adapted to engage a portion of said frame member.

9. An appliance of the type described comprising two elongated members between which hair may be confined, adjacent ends of said members being pivotally connected together and the opposite end of one member being provided with a catch portion, an opening through which said catch extends when the device is in operative position, a movable element carried by said other member and adapted to be slid along said member to engage the catch element below the general surface plane of said other member, and a keeper for said sliding element disposed substantially at the surface level of said member adjacent the end thereof.

BERNHARD M. BESKOW. 

